Dufisthenics

You may recall that under the prior gym ownership they brought a trainer in there that went by the name Renegade.  He sort of looked the part as he wore almost exclusively plaid button down shirts (mostly unbuttoned) with the sleeves cut off.  I never talked to him much if at all during his first stint.  Naming yourself Renegade is just something that is going to cause me to steer away from you by reflex.  During that time he was just a trainer, I don’t think he was technically a gym employee.

Well he rejoined the staff a month or two ago, this time as an employee that works behind the counter and trains as needed.  His attire has changed as he has to wear the official Retro Fitness branded shirts that I assume he isn’t crazy about.  Well anyway this time around I have made an effort to engage him more although I refuse to call him Renegade.  It’s always “dude” or “buddy”.  He seems like a nice enough guy but he has this weird thing he has done to me twice now, random conversation topics as I am walking away from him.

The other week after I said hi to him as I walked in. On my way to a cardio machine he blurts out “So do you think Trump is going to do it?”  I just shook my head and gave a non-partisan response, something like “It’s a mess”  He said something else that made me think he actually hopes Trump wins which I just mumbled something in acknowledgement that I heard him.

Today as I was walking out the door after saying “see you later dude”, I literally had the door open, he said something like “Did you hear about the ISIS – Metallica connection?”  I could have totally misheard him but that is what it sounded like.  I did not slow my exit or ask him to repeat what he said.  He said another sentence as the door closed behind me.  I said over my shoulder, still having no clue what he was talking about “Yea man, it’s crazy…”

As I was in the bathroom before leaving the gym I glanced in the mirror and remembered I was wearing my 2011 Tough Mudder shirt.  For some reason this triggered a landslide of very fast images where I thought about a lot of the t-shirts in my collection.  Many of them are connected to various events I used to compete in, volleyball tournaments, running races, triathlons and Tough Mudders.  I thought about how I am now several years removed from doing any of these things and I felt pissed off about it. Almost every weekend used to include a run on Saturday followed by a bike/swim brick on Sunday.  That simply never happens anymore.

I am not quite sure how I slid into the mindset that I didn’t need to push myself as much to compete in such things.  I think mentally the “just part of getting older” syndrome set in.  I think it was initiated by some of the chronic injury problems I started to have, mostly with my knees and IT band.  However once I got those pretty much under control I just did not have the motivation to start cranking the training back up again to higher levels, forget even thinking about competing.  By putting this into words I am hoping it is a method to hold myself more accountable.  I want some new shirts that I earned instead of ones that are bought or given.

Today was chest day, 24 hours later than normal since I was off yesterday.  I tried benching 235 pounds for the first time in quite awhile.  I needed a slight spot from my buddy but at least I gave it a shot.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 225lbs x 1, 235lbs x 1 (spotted), 225lbs x 1, 205lbs x 4, 185lbs x 7, 135lbs x 15

Cybex pec dec fly – 115lbs x 12. 160lbs x 10, 190lbs x 6

Decline bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 2